[darwood]

Well a month after I had the oil changed on my STi at the dealers I decided to check on my plastic undertray to make sure they didn't cut it. Now I thought everything was good till I saw a thread on NASIOC about this happening so I decided to really check. As it turns out it looks like they did cut a section out of my undertray. I would really appreciate it if someone could confirm it for me whether or not this could have been done at port.

Now the cut is right next to the oil drain plug. It looks like there should be a hole in the undertray that allows me to access the drain plug. What I have now is the beginnings of a hole with the outer ring cut out so now it is a recessed cut in the undertray. I can clearly see that the outer loop of the original hole is gone. So I'm asking if it is normal to have a hole around the drain plug or a recessed cut instead.

I'm going to be making a call early on Monday to hopefully sort this out.

Thanks

 

[Guest]

Although I didn't notice any cuts or holes, I was watching when the dealer service guy changed my oil. Once up on the hoist he did not need to remove the undertray to drain the oil and remove the filter. Does that mean it was cut also?

 

[Hispanics]

I just did my oil change yesterday. If I did not remove the undertray I would have spilled oil on it when removing the filter. I think the plug would be okay. If you spill oil on the undertray I think it would leak and leave spots on driveways and lots and make a mess out of the plastic. It's better to remove it. I can see a lazy mechanic cutting it.

 

[CloNeGTS]

I don't see an issue with getting at the drain plug with the tray in place, but the filter is a different story.

I'd just look for a ragged edge. Mine was smooth and stock looking. But just having access to the drain plug isn't a sign of the tray being cut.

 

[darwood]

Actually I know it is cut. It was not molded this way. The edge is too rough.

For those of you who checked the area near the drain plug, is it a hole in the underpan you used to get access to the drain plug, or was it a section that was recessed in the undertray.

In the owners manual there is a picture of the undertray when it shows where the drain plug is. In the picture, the undertray has two holes in it near the back. My undertray only has the left most hole. On the right I can see where the hole should have been but it is now missing about 1/3 of the circle so it is now a recess.

Also if I removed the drain plug oil would not get on the undertray at all since there is nothing there that the oil would hit.

Thanks for responses.

 

[darwood]

Ok I've found a picture from the Subaru STi site and have drawn red lines to show where my undertray was cut. I'm also going to post this on NASIOC since there is a thread there dealing with this as well.

 

[CloNeGTS]

Hmm...I don't think mine looked like that at all. I recall those back two bolts being connected by just two strips of plastic. I'll try to get a pic tonight.

Are you sure that's the USDM undercarriage?

 

[MKIVSupra]

I will be pissed if I find out mine was cut for any reason. I am paying for them to change my oil and not take lazy short cuts or I would just do it myself.

 

[darwood]

Hmm...I don't think mine looked like that at all. I recall those back two bolts being connected by just two strips of plastic. I'll try to get a pic tonight.

Are you sure that's the USDM undercarriage?

Well the picture is from the US Subaru site so take that for what it is worth. I do know my undertray looks like this. Also this is what the undertray looks like in the owners manual in the oil change section. I would take pictures of my undertray, but I don't have a jack handy and I'm not sure how good of a picture I could take.

 

[CloNeGTS]

You're right, that is what mine looks like. It doesn't look like a hack job though. Where it was done, I don't know. It sure wasn't a dealer done thing since mine has never been anywhere to get the oil changed. It's either factory or port.

 

[darwood]

Thanks Rob,

So you're missing that section as well? That's strange. It might have been a port thing.

Could others check their undertrays as well to see if they are missing the section?

 

[gforced]

I will check mine tonight and let you know.

 

[CloNeGTS]

Are you concerned about the cut itself? Like I said, mine has only seen a dealer for the PDI, no service of any kind, so it's a new-car thing.

 

[darwood]

Canadian headlight bulb spec?

I was concerned with the fact that I was apparently missing a large chunk of my undertray. It does seem this is a nornal thing however for some reason. I'm just glad that it's becomming apparent that my dealer had nothing to do with it.

 

[1BlueSTi4Me]

I noticed a section of my undertray was cut away (from either the factory or the port) whenI was changing my oil for the first time. I'm sure you will find that this was done to all STi's. Probably a last minute engineering redesign/rework. Bottom line, a few months and that plastic is going to look like hell anyway. It's a rally car ... drive it and enjoy.

 

[darwood]

Production Numbers / Codes

Actually my car isn't going to see anything other than asphalt. I have my truck for the dirt. 8)

 

[Hispanics]

Sorry about the double post

 

[Hispanics]

Mine was not cut. Nice factory lines same as picture. Except it has inserts where the holes are in the picture. One hole on the left the other on the right. The one in the picture above has two red marks done by darwood. The inserts look like they are held in by some kind of revet. Looks factory OEM no one has touched mine.

 

[CloNeGTS]

Hmmm...interesting.

Maybe a PDI thing? The way mine is clean cut, it sure looks like someone spent some time to make it nice if that was the case. If it is PDI work, it sure isn't official....no where in the PDI checklist I saw.

 

[darwood]

Mine was not cut..... The inserts look like they are held in by some kind of revet. Looks factory OEM no one has touched mine.

Are you sure you are looking far enough back? I also have the inserts with the rivets but these are about 8 inches or so closer to the front then the other two holes that are further back. In the picture I posted you can see the riveted inserts I'm talking about. They are at the very top of the picture.

If you have these inserts plus riveted inserts where the other holes are then something real strange is going on.